Whatever Nano

[Kado]

Yeah I'm a noob and have no creativity what so ever..Anyways, I found this used nano tank for about $6 at the LFS. Then I threw whatever extra stuff I had laying around in to it...yeah I will probably fail, but I like to learn.


IMG_4935 by Ecopot, on Flickr

[thefisherman]

dude why so hard on your self? thats a great value pick up from yor LFS and you managed to plant a cryptocoryne to boot! i think you've done a great job and off to a good start.

its hard to tell by the picks but is your tank flooded? and was the crypt bought as a submerged plant?

the main thing about crypts are their tendency to "melt"... basically they dissolve into goop if they're unhappy. but it is perfectly normal for them to melt off some of their leaves when newly planted and/or when they "convert" from emersed to submersed states (and vice versa).

keep in mind crypts are primarily root feeding plants so your substrate shouldn't be completely inert. you can add root tab fertilizers or DIY substrate fert additives. the natural lowtech option of course to stock your nano with fauna and let your substrate "mature"... basically poop, uneaten food and other detritus build up (not excessive) just enough to enrich (fertilize) the soil. but that takes time, so in the meantime you can purchase liquid ferts to dose in your tank to keep your plant happy.


- thefisherman

[sayurasem]

Keep us updated with the stuff you can get in Japan!

[Kado]

Originally Posted by thefisherman

dude why so hard on your self? thats a great value pick up from yor LFS and you managed to plant a cryptocoryne to boot! i think you've done a great job and off to a good start.

its hard to tell by the picks but is your tank flooded? and was the crypt bought as a submerged plant?

the main thing about crypts are their tendency to "melt"... basically they dissolve into goop if they're unhappy. but it is perfectly normal for them to melt off some of their leaves when newly planted and/or when they "convert" from emersed to submersed states (and vice versa).

keep in mind crypts are primarily root feeding plants so your substrate shouldn't be completely inert. you can add root tab fertilizers or DIY substrate fert additives. the natural lowtech option of course to stock your nano with fauna and let your substrate "mature"... basically poop, uneaten food and other detritus build up (not excessive) just enough to enrich (fertilize) the soil. but that takes time, so in the meantime you can purchase liquid ferts to dose in your tank to keep your plant happy.


- thefisherman

Yeah guess I am a little hard on my self..lol..I'm going to try the dry start method to see if I can get it to grow any better then the ones in my 20l. I didn't have enough aqua soil so I have some dirt under my aqua soil. Not sure if that is a good idea or not, but I'm gonna try it. I would like to have a few fish in it by next summer.

Originally Posted by sayurasem

Keep us updated with the stuff you can get in Japan!

Will do!

[thefisherman]

Originally Posted by Kado

Yeah guess I am a little hard on my self..lol..I'm going to try the dry start method to see if I can get it to grow any better then the ones in my 20l. I didn't have enough aqua soil so I have some dirt under my aqua soil. Not sure if that is a good idea or not, but I'm gonna try it. I would like to have a few fish in it by next summer.

well if you are using aquasoil as in the ADA stuff, i believe can be nutrient rich. i don't have experience with ADA soil but i am guessing at least you'll get all the trace elements your root feeder needs from the clay component of the soil. it may not hurt adding a root tab or other substrate macro (NPK) fertilizers. in your case osmocote could be an affordable option as you are doing a dry start.

emersed setups key to success is the "aerial advantage" plant leaves are exposed to all the oxygen and co2 it needs to metabolize, so you would definately see marked improvement in growth.

the trick with any DSM comes when you flood the tank. two major things to consider is what happens to your soil and what happens to your plants.

in the first instance, people use DSM to avoid algae blooms due to the use of and conversion of terrestial soil to a submerged state. as you are using aquasoil substate, its already in a stable submergable state, so no issue here. if not, would have to do a series of wc to flush excess nutrients released by the soil.

the second instance pertains to the plants... now you have emersed form plants that are being converted back into submersed form. basically going from unlimited O2 and CO2 to asfixiation. so definately CO2 injection or supplementation is required as well as a lightig and wc routine to ease everything back to a submerged state.

unfortunately i don't have successful experience doing this and defer to the other TPT members for their input. good luck!





- thefisherman

[Kado]

update..

Wasn't really liking the lava rock and moss so I went back to the LFS to see what I cound find. Found a nice piece of driftwood that was on sale and also something that was labeled "Cobra Grass (コブラグラス)". Couldn't find a wikipedia link in Japanese on it, but I think it may be this "Lilaeopsis novae-zelandia"..maybe some moss on the driftwood?


IMG_4949 by Ecopot, on Flickr

[Kado]

week 2 update 11/19/2012

Moved the driftwood and Amazon Sword to my 20L and replaced it with the extra river rocks I had laying around. The lilaeopsis is doing well I guess, which after more research I found out that the Japanese translated from Copra Grass not Cobra Grass..lol..lost in translation..anyways its hasn't grown much, but all the yellow leaves that I got from the lfs has melted just leaving the nice green looking ones so it does look a bit better. Oh forgot to mention that the only light its been getting is natural sun light that comes through the window.


IMG_5020 by Ecopot, on Flickr

[Kado]

Not really wanting to flood this yet, but I think I may have to move my swordtails out of my 20g. I have 3 females and 1 male in there. 1 of the females doesn't want to mate with the male so all she does is get chased around the tank all day. Now she has a ripped tail. Will it be ok to just leave that 1 female in the 20g and put the other 3 in this tank? Do swordtails need company from their own species?

[inthepacific]

that drift wood was awesome i need to find me a piece like that. it would look nice with a full carpet of plants around it

[chad320]

Youre going to learn fast only having a tank a few weeks and rescaping it 3 times already By looking at you pics, I would guess your plant is Lilaeopsis braziliensis. It spreads by runners to form a carpet. You are in luck as it does like ADA aquasoil. it it notorious for taking some time to get used to a tanks environment, but when it does, it will spread around pretty fast. Give it a few months. It looks like you are off to a great start though!

[mistahoo]

IMO all 3 scapes looked nice with tons of potential. Good luck and hopefully you'll find a scape that you like.

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice startup

[Kado]

Thanks, this is my whatever tanks so that's why it is I've been rescaping it so much. Its more of just an experiment so it just gets whatever left overs I got from my other tanks.

[GMYukonon24s]

Your welcome. I see that you say this tank gets whatever is leftover from the other tanks. What is the experiment?

[Kado]

I'm trying out the dry start method.